


Devour

by dreamingcicadas



Series: Yellow eyes [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Daemon!Noct AU, Daemons, Gen, Sick Fic, noct is sick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-23 02:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9636527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamingcicadas/pseuds/dreamingcicadas
Summary: Noctis doesn't know why these people don't let himeatbut he's itching to drive his claws into them and tear them piece by piece.  The more they try to help, the sicker he feels.AU three-shot in which Noctis gets turned into a Daemon, but the chocobros manage to save him in time. Hurt/comfort





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nickofhearts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nickofhearts/gifts).



> Inspired by Nickofhearts lovely Daemon!Noct AU, EXCEPT MINES TEMP AND HAS A SORT OF HAPPY ENDING AHAHAH
> 
> Stay tuned for 2 more chapters, and the big Daemon!Noct series I've been stewing up.

Tonight, they camped under the stars. It was too dangerous to settle in town. Not when Noctis was...like this.

 

Ignis cooked a meal for all of them like he always did, it was skewered garula kebabs for dinner.  Prompto simply savored all of which was somehow gourmet cooking. This was probably the millionth time the greatest meal ever had graced his tastebuds and Prompto, like always, ‘could die happily now.’ Gladio used the cooked meat as the piece de resistance for his precious cup noodle while Ignis took his meal with a shot of ebony. For their last member, the crowned prince, Ignis concocted a medley of spices in a warm broth.

 

Some time had passed since Insomnia’s demise, and with it the _true_ power of a king. If everyone was being honest, Niflheim’s chase was merely a game between cat and mouse.If he was caught, Prince Noctis was doomed for a life worse than poverty.They barely scraped by cash to buy enough curatives.  And really, they don’t have to be here. There was probably a greater reward and a promise to a life of luxury if they turned in his bounty.But no one was here to capture the splendors, or grow fat and complacent from hand outs.

 

They were here for Noct.

 

The prince was bound by makeshift cuffs Gladiolus managed to rope him into. Noctis wasn’t interested in the soup, instead, he was focused on glaring daggers at his entourage. His lips curled into an upwards snarl which revealed too-sharp teeth.

 

And his eyes--the sclera was black.

 

Instead of that lackadaisical and familiar blue, his irises burned like bright embers from their campfire. The pitch black spilled into the surrounding veins around his eyes, staining his pale skin with its blight.  Right behind his ears two horns twisted out of his head. They curled asymmetrically, one curled inwards while the other spiraled out. At the base of his horns scales freckled from his cheekbones down to his jaw.  Against the canvas of the night if one was too careless in their observation, it even looked like his black hair flickered like a dying flame.

 

Fortune had smiled down upon them, what gil they did have was enough to buy a holy remedy. Now all they had to do was wait until this status ailment was out his system.

 

Prompto flicked his empty tin cup, he meekly said, “ Do you think it’s because he had the starscourge before?”

 

Like Gladio, Ignis was focused on his charge. “ A second infection may have exacerbated a previous condition, but I thought he was cured by the Oracle.”

 

Gladiolus slapped a hand on Prompto’s shoulder, and the younger man jumped. “ What matters most is that we got the cure in him. Now he’s just gotta get it out.”

 

“ Why don’t you eat your meal, Noct?” Gladiolus turned back to Noctis, his voice stern. “ It’ll make you feel better.”

 

The first response was a deep, guttural growl. At that, Prompto looked away, Gladiolus continued his contest, and Ignis inched a little closer. Noctis blinked owlishly and then he grimaced. His fangs seemed to make speech difficult so his words were slow and slurred.  

 

“ Makes me sick,” His voice sounded garbled, like another, otherly voice laid on top of his natural one. “Let me go.”

 

It was Ignis who spoke up next. “Will you try to hurt us?”

 

Noctis’ eyes loll back before his tense form slackened. They all shared a sigh of relief, and Ignis moved to untether his charge. But then it was like a flip of the switch, one moment he was placid and now he was straining against his bindings, snapping at Ignis.

 

“ I’m so hungry _,_ ” he growled, claws flexing against the rope. Prompto moved behind Gladiolus, and in turn, the larger man straightened to an imposing figure. He crossed his arms disapprovingly at him.

 

“ Ignis,” He enunciated, “ Made some soup for you, how about you eat that?”

 

“ But I’m _hungry._ ”

  
Ignis shot Prompto a look.The blonde man jumped away and wildly flailed through their travel bags before he pulled out a single sleeping potion. Prompto quickly broke the seal to the potion, and as directed by the manufacturer, threw it at Noct. The dust shattered all over him, and for a few seconds of lucidity, the prince cradled his head before collapsing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis' recovery is a slippery slope.

A few days had passed since the therapeutic effects of the medication started. More often than not Ignis found himself supporting Noctis’ trembling shoulders as the prince heaved a black, foul ichor. It was disgusting, the black bile crawled like maggots before it dissolved into thin air.

Noct was on the mend even if it was a slow crawl. His features were still distorted by daemonic traits but Noctis’ horns had dulled to a brittle glow and started to chip away.

 

Prompto was tinkering with some new MT jammer and Gladiolus was hanging back for any assistance. Both of them turned their heads to Noctis when he staggered to his feet. In any other situation Noctis would have been teased for his disheveled appearance, but the black smear that stained his lips and his gnarled horns remind them of how they almost lost him.

 

There was a designated throw-up bucket, which used to be where they stored camping necessities. After this ordeal was over, Ignis would have to add ‘new bucket’ on their shopping list.

 

“ You should get some rest Iggy,” Gladiolus said as he stood up from his chair. “ I’ll take it from here.”

Gladio carefully wrapped a protective arm around Noctis and scrunched up his nose as he leaned in. He pulled out a handkerchief from his back pocket to wipe the filth off Noct’s face.  

 

“ How about we go down to the river and get you cleaned up,” He said.

 

Noctis’ nodded even though his eyes looked unfocused. Prompto craned his neck towards the late sun and bit his lip. Gladiolus didn’t budge when he spoke, “ Don’t worry, we’ll be back before night. He really needs to be washed up now that he can move.”

 

No one objected in the tense silence that followed.

 

\--

 

The path towards the river wasn’t much of challenge for someone like Gladio.To Noctis, it felt like a steep descent down a mountainside. And every time Noctis opens his eyes, the world shakes with saturated layers of colors he’s never seen before.

 

Noctis would lean hard on the fence post, sometimes gagging, sometimes throwing up. But the strong, sturdy hands of Gladiolus would pull him back and they would return down the straight and narrow.

 

He doesn’t remember a lot, just names--he doesn’t get why Gladiolus wants to help him so much. It wasn’t too long ago that this man and his companions were trying to hurt him. Like how the light hurt him.

 

The next time he opens his eyes, the sound of the rushing river pounds in his head, and Gladiolus helping him peel off his shirt.

 

\--

 

Gladiolus had brought two buckets with them down to the river. The first priority was Prince Noctis’ hygiene, so cleaning the barf-bucket was the last on the list. The water splashing into the container bubbled up from the soap dropped in there from before.

 

He turned to Noctis, who was shivering from the wind the river produced. Gladiolus wrung out the wet towel as he approached Noct.

 

“ Alright, we’ll make this quick,” he pointed at his horns, “ Maybe we can get some of that shit off.”

 

Noctis lightly grasped his horns with such a quizzical tilt in his expression that could only be described as adorable. But Gladiolus would never admit it. He squeezed a generous amount of bodywash into the palms of the prince’s clawed-hands, Noctis sniffed the soap and let it drip off his hands experimentally.

 

“ You clean yourself with that,” Gladiolus said, gesturing. “ So you don’t reek."

 

Gladiolus wanted to foster independence in his recovery, so as Noctis washed himself, he only offered himself as a guide or as support. Except for shampooing, Gladiolus elected himself to wash it. Besides, the other man wasn’t very cognisant to object.

 

As he worked the soap into a lather, Gladiolus focused on picking away the starscourge that marked his charge. Upon further inspection, he found new growth of scales. The air hitched in his lungs. He refrained to curse for fear he might startle Noctis. The prince didn’t notice the new sense of urgency in Gladiolus’ movements, slipping on a new change of clothes seemed challenging enough.

 

Noctis wasn’t throwing up every other moment, but Gladiolus couldn’t tell if that was a good thing.

 

When they walked back to the campsite, Gladiolus pushed the pace. They needed to buy more of that medicine to stop the progression. Where was Lady Lunafreya when you needed her--or even Umbra? Maybe the damn dog would know what to do.

 

Gladiolus turned around as Noctis hunched over, he didn’t even realize he was a few paces ahead of the prince.

 

“ What is it, Noct?” Gladiolus reached for his prince, who looked like he was standing in vertigo.

 

Thank the Six for his reflexes, as Noctis’ flared out. Instead of being gored Noctis only clawed air. Gladiolus noted that the prince’s demeanor changed from a stumbling gait to something rabid, feral. Night still hadn’t captured the final bastion of light in the sky, so Gladio had to move quick. It took all three of them to take down Noct and that was only because the sun was rising.

 

Again, Noctis lunged forward aiming for the Amicitia’s throat. There’s no hint of his brother in there, all Gladio sees in those yellow eyes was an animal. What was good about training in survival, is that these movements were synonymous in the most desperate of beasts. What’s bad is that the traits were presenting in _Noctis_.

 

The shield steeled himself after dodging a few strikes. There was no sense of strategy in prince’s movements, and when Noct closed in again, Gladiolus took the opportunity to disable him. Quickly he twisted Noct’s arm and sent him crashing to the ground with his knee pressed into his back.

 

“ Snap out of it,” he flinched at the harshness of his voice, “ Come on, how can we help you if you don’t fight it, Noct?”

 

Below him, Noctis was heaving for air. Seeing him hyperventilate was painful to watch, and knowing that Noctis doesn’t _see_ him as help made it worse. The prince dripped with ire, pushing against Gladiolus’ weight with a bristled roar. With a sickening crack, Gladiolus knocked Noctis unconscious.

 

\--

 

Prompto kept rewinding the last few days in his head over and over, searching for where it went wrong. Ignis was a better detective than him, but Ignis was strung out and utterly exhausted by the entire ordeal. The fact that Gladiolus had left the task of watching Noct to him was insane, but he doesn’t intend to fail them. Noct’s condition was not looking good.

 

It’s like how the saying goes: take one step forward, two steps back.

 

He recalled it all started in a hunt near Costlemark Tower, the bounty only mentioned about five or so imps that needed killing. Noctis and Gladiolus made bets on who could down them faster, and signed their contract by fistbump. What neither of them anticipated was the ambush of Necromancers. Prompto never seen anything like it, and he could only tremble in fear as one of the daemon’s grabbed Noct by its tendrils. One of its limbs morphed into a snake and bit into Noctis’ neck. Prompto stood agape in abject horror as Noctis writhed in the daemon’s grasp, like if the bite was filled with burning venom.

 

When he regained his bearings, he used starshot to land the killing blow. The Necromancer dissolved into ash and Noctis rolled onto the ground, clutching the bitemark. Prompto’s hands trembled as he watched Ignis and Gladiolus help the prince to his feet. In retrospect, Prompto should have killed that fucker sooner.

 

Noctis pushed Gladiolus away immediately, crashing once more into the ground as he curled into himself. Prompto rushed forward at the sight of his friend convulsing, but he didn’t know what to fucking do.

 

Ignis took off his jacket and folded underneath Noctis’ head. Prompto felt like the world was spinning. Was his best friend really about to die?

 

After what felt like eternity, Noctis stopped moving completely. His body fell slack, and Gladiolus shouted his name over and over. Then, when everyone fell silent, Noctis stirred. Prompto hadn’t realized that Noctis had claws, and horns, and yellow eyes until he was ontop of him. Gladio rammed the prince off of Prompto before he had his throat ripped open.

 

And Prompto stared at those same yellow eyes now. Noctis was tied up against a makeshift fence post, snapping his fangs at the blond whenever he moved. The growls grew louder as Prompto approached him. “Gladdy’s getting you some help, you know that right?”

 

Prompto shuddered when Noctis only hissed in response, bearing down on him with renewed vitriol.

 

“We just want to help you, Noct,” he called out, “ It’s me, you know, chocobo-head?”

 

His heart fluttered when his friend fell silent, and Prompto found himself doing a double take of the bound prince. Yea, Noct looked like coiled up tension, but it really looked like he _heard_ him. Amber eyes warily followed Prompto’s pointed finger. “ That’s the sky, right?”

 

He continued, “ Well, it’s night right now. Daemons come out at night, and they... did something to you.”

 

Really, it felt like he was talking to himself so he turned around, crushing a pebble under his shoe. When he turned his gaze back to Noctis, he jumped a little in his skin. They were glowing against the dark, but they gleamed inquisitively.

 

“You’re not a daemon, you’re human, Noct. You live in the sun, like the rest of us,” he said. Maybe it was because he wasn’t the type to stretch out into speeches of friendship that the next words he said fell out his mouth. “ I know we look like monsters to you, but trust me on this one, what this is--it isn’t you.”

 

The way Noctis looked at Prompto made him laugh. If this situation wasn’t so fucked up, Noctis reminded him of some weird aggregation of a cat. Off handedly, he wondered that maybe cats were actually daemons in disguise.

 

An idea struck him like lightning, and he leaped towards the cooler and pulled out a slab of meat. Noctis eyed it ravenously, and Prompto grinned. “ Hey, maybe we can work a compromise until you’re better!”

 

And then he added, “ But you gotta be nice, like, don’t kill me please?”

 

Noctis laughed, which was totally creepy when it was layered with multiple octaves. Prompto was figuring out the logistics of cutting the meat. “ Now, how are we going to do this while retaining both of our dignity?”

 

“ Don’t take pictures, simple.”

 

“ Wait, Noctis?” He spun around, stumbling  forward with his hands splayed out. “ Noct, is that you--Okay, uh, What’s your favorite lure?”

 

“ Cactuar, spinning,” the prince grinned toothily.

 

Noctis blinked again, flexed his claws against the ropes and then looked up. He watch the prince shiver like a bucket of ice water spilled over him, like he didn’t realize what he said. In that same garbled voice from before, where it made Prompto’s hair stand on end, he said, “I won’t hurt you.”

 

“ You,” he breathed, this was Noctis. This just had to be. “ You want me to untie you?”

 

The prince nodded slowly, that expression of sadness so undeniably Noctis. “ Please, it hurts.”

 

As Prompto closed the distance between them, Noctis waited expectantly. Prompto examined his eyes which used to be as vibrant as the clear blue sky. He kneeled down and started to fumble with Gladiolus’ expertly tied knots but stopped when someone screamed his name.

 

“ What are you _doing_ , Prompto!?” It was Ignis. “ Get away!”

 

Noctis flinched back at the sound of Ignis voice, and through his teeth and mumbled weakly,“ Stop yelling.”

 

By his appearance, Ignis had just awoken from the throes of sleep. His glasses were nowhere to be found, so his expression of rage wasn’t hidden underneath a mask.Taking a few steps back as Ignis approached hotly, Prompto threw up his arms, but naturally inclined back, a habit he always did when he was intimidated.

 

“ I just have this feeling that, that he’s back,” Prompto stuttered to his defense, and Ignis shot him a dreadful look of incredulity that it seared his mouth shut.

 

“ We leave you by yourself for a few hours,” Ignis flared, gesturing curtly to Noctis, who flinched again at the sound of his voice. “ And you don’t even notice he’s progressed in this awful condition!?”

 

Prompto blinked in the following silence. He turned his head back at Noctis, who’s face broke into a cheshire grin. This time, with a scrutinizing glare he realized curled around his leg there was a long, black tail that flickered in and out of existence. In its transparency, the scales still glistened against the crackling flames like they were solid.

 

“ Oh.”

 

He only managed to untie one knot, but it seemed like it was enough for Noctis to break free. Ignis cried out, summoning his daggers. Prompto called his own weapon to his hand, but that was Noctis. He was talking to Noctis.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY HE WASN'T ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO PROGRESS BUT THEN I DECIDED DAEMON KITTY NOCT WAS BETTER.  
> blamE @nickofhearts because i dont know how to be responsible for my own actions.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That's the end folks

By far, this was the strangest predicament Prompto found himself in. The elixir healed the chunk of flesh torn out of his shoulder but he dared not to utter even a sound around Ignis’ presence, who was busy pacing like a mad man under a tall tree. The poor man found his glasses but they sat crooked on his nose. Gladiolus had yet to return, though Prompto can only imagine what the implications will be when he does. For now, it was just Prompto bearing witness to Ignis’ poor attempts at coaxing Noctis down from a particularly high tree branch.

 

Maybe Prompto needed glasses too. If he squinted hard enough, he can make out Noctis’ tail swinging and flicking in response to Ignis’ pleas. Yea, Noctis sprouted horns and scales, but he didn’t act like a cold-blooded reptilian. Where was a taxonomy book, or Sonia? 

 

The wound patched into an itchy scar. Thank the Six for elixirs, he couldn’t imagine a what a world would be without them. Though, it did worry him he might become weirdly addicted to the drug after this entire ordeal was over.

 

High pitched whines pulled Prompto out of his reverie, and he hopped to his feet with the swing of his arms. Ignis kicked the dirt as he approached, which was the most vulgar expression he seen Ignis do. Prompto hooked a hand around his neck and filled his lungs with air to enunciate the best sigh he could produce. When the advisor to the crown pointedly ignored him did he speak up.

“You know, I think you’re just scaring him. Maybe we can just wait for him to calm down?”

 

Ignis made no effort to turn around, but Prompto saw his back stiffen. “So he can run off without his mind or humanity?”

 

“ Well he didn’t run off before, or now, so I mean, I don’t think he will?”

 

“Ah,” Ignis’ was dripping with sarcasm, “ I guess we could wait for him to lose his sense of self. A perfect plan.”

 

Prompto fixed his gaze on one of the coolers they kept their meats a few yards back at the campsite. Then he slowly peered upwards, where his bestfriend was hiding, and saw the glowing catseye of Noctis. 

 

The mewling grew louder, but it held none of that animosity Noctis presented before. Ignis was smarter than him, he had to see this was Noctis. Had to know that the daemon would have ripped his throat open instead of biting his shoulder.  Prompto snapped his fingers, like how Ignis would when he was struck with culinary creativity. Ignis focused on him sourly, and Prompto offered a weak half-smile in turn. 

 

“ If you’re worried about me, I’m as good as ever!” Prompto called from below. When he was offered no response, he backtracked to the cooler and pulled out another cut of meat. A spark of recognition flashed through Ignis’ face, but the older man remained passive. 

 

“ I think all that shouting from Ignis made you agitated, you were just hungry, right,” he grinned and turned to Ignis to share the content of his epiphany. “ It’s not even human meat-- Wait, uh, you’re not like Hannibal, right?” 

 

The heir to the Scientia household shared nothing but a flat affect towards the blonde. Prompto couldn’t help but pout. After a few beats, Ignis said, “ I do recall him taking a bite out of you Prompto.”

 

The gunner slouched forward. “ Come on, man, just let me help for once.” 

 

Ignis closed his eyes and sighed, which was the best answer he’d ever get to take initiative.

 

He returned to his mission. “ Trust me, I know that’s you. It’s like you said, we go way back-- before highschool.”

 

Noctis poked his head out lower, his expression more than the primal rage Prompto remembered. It made his heart pound in his ears, just a little closer now. The blonde gripped at the bracelets on his wrist as Noctis landed on all fours in front of him.

 

“See Iggy? Progress.” Ignis pressed the bridge of his nose.

 

Prompto was finally able to give Noctis a good look-over as his daemon-afflicted friend timidly stood up. He assumed Noctis’ slouched posture was due to how the horns curled away from his head. Prompto was no biologist, but they looked heavy and impractical as far as these things went.  The star scourge had imbrued its way past his elbows, like if he dipped his arms in black ink. His claws curled into long talons and when Noct moved his arms Prompto swore they moved like smoke.  

 

Ignis recoiled back when Noctis shied away from his touch. Just like an animal, Noctis’ tail was an emotional marker. It curled around one of his legs as the prince haunched into a crouch. The man turned to Prompto and nodded, “We should test out your theory.”

 

The freckled blonde nodded, holding up the cut of meat he procured earlier. Noctis had snatched it out of his hands before he even realized it was gone, and bounded a few yards away. 

 

Both of them watched Noctis’ shoulders shudder into sobs as he finished. They approached warily, careful not to startle the prince, with Ignis a few steps ahead of Prompto. 

Tears rolled down his cheeks as Noctis scrubbed his face with his claws. Prompto kneeled forward, side by side with Noct, carefully reaching out to him. 

 

“ I’m sorry, I can’t,” Noctis gasped through strangled cries, “ I can’t do anything right.”

 

It wasn’t until a few hours after the fact that Gladiolus came storming in upon seeing that his charge was missing. When he pulled the tent open, he found Noctis sandwiched between Prompto and Ignis, all of them sound asleep. The shield to the crown broke into a soft smile. 

 

Everything would be okay.

 

\--

 

Gladiolus had come bearing good news, Noctis’ affliction could be cured by a non-mystic route if he went to a clinic found in Lestallum. The prince’s condition had gone up and down during their stay, and several occassions did Noctis require sedation, but through that, the facility was kind enough to not chew out Prince Noctis devastating fees.

 

“ I’m finally free,” Noctis said, stretching his limbs. His fingers were ashened at their tips when he inspected them, but they weren’t claws like before. 

 

“ I can’t believe they put you on four-point restraints,” Ignis ran a hand through his gelled hair, sighing deeply. “How unbecoming.”

 

Noctis pushed his weight on one leg and lazily looked around. The strange shifting colors had only left a small tinge to his vision. Gladiolus entered the room first, followed by Prompto who was carrying a paper bag of goodies. Before the blonde set the grocery bag down, he stole himself a cupcake.

 

“ So how is sleeping beauty fairing?” Gladiolus teased, his eyes as bright as day. Noctis rolled his eyes at the verbal jab, but couldn’t help but smile. 

 

“ I’m feeling pretty good, actually.” The prince set his sights on the goods Prom got him, but Ignis barred his way. As he adjusted his glasses, the older man spoke, “ The first meal his highness will get into him is a nutritious one.” 

 

“Before you guys decide to embark on some grand adventure,” Another voice chimed in, who was the doctor. He wore the classic white lab coat over a business casual polo and khakis. Like Ignis, the man wore glasses. Noctis noted, either a lot of people didn’t wear fitting frames, or the gesture of pushing them up the bridge of your nose was a universal warning to fear.

 

Noctis switched gears, suddenly finding interest in his fingertips, but he continued,“ It’s really important that you comply with taking your medication--.”

 

“--Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Until I finish the bottle or it’ll come back full-force. Got it.” Ignis shot Noctis a rare warning glare, and Gladiolus broke into a smug grin.

 

Noctis tugged at his tail and despite the fact it was fading away, it disturbed him that it still remained as tangible as ever. “ So why isn’t this going like the horns did?”

 

Prompto interjected before the doctor could respond, “ You know there’s nothing wrong with showing emotion, Noct!”

 

“ I do show emotion,” Noctis grounded out, which made Gladiolus and Prompto break into hearty laughter. 

 

“Anyway,” the doctor continued, “That’ll take time to go away, give it about two to four weeks.”

 

“ Two to four weeks…” Noct mumbled. “ And if I feel any of those side-effects you mentioned I should come back.” 

 

“ Hopefully not,” Gladiolus said, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

\--

  
  


When they returned to the open road Noctis had counted. On the first night of camping,his tail had been stepped on five times. On the sixth, Noctis turned around and had actually  _ hissed _ at Prompto, who in turn squeaked out his apologies. It wasn’t fair that Gladiolus hadn’t been cutting him any slack. The threats of Noctis getting shot in the ass with an 18 gauge needle was enough to quiet him to a sulky mood. 

 

Noctis wandered over to Ignis after he finished his camping duties. The group’s official culinarian had set up their makeshift kitchen and was busy stewing a beautiful symphony of meats, potato and simmered vegetables. The prince always wondered how Ignis could make the most vile of ingredients taste so good. He didn’t recognize the configuration of the meal, so it had to be some new recipe Ignis was testing. 

 

“ What’s cookin’, Specs?” Noctis leaned over, pulling one of the seats to their station. Ignis’ shift in expression was subtle, a light smile graced his lips and he quirked an eyebrow at Noct. “ Is His Majesty interested in a cooking lesson, perhaps?”

 

The prince threw up his arms, and leaned back. “ Me and cooking don’t really work well.”

 

After some time had passed, Ignis’ phone had buzzed, and shortly after Noctis’ did too. 

  
  


“ Ah.” Noctis pulled the medication bottle out secured from his pocket. He popped two tablets in his mouth, and Ignis had pushed a small cup of water towards him.

 

The sun had painted the sky in a beautiful array of colors. The clouds were a medley of purples and pinks Noctis never seen before. This stew was superb, the meat melted in his mouth and the vegetables didn’t leave an aftertaste. When they tallied their scores for their dozenth game of King’s Knight, Noctis to shuffled through the photos that were captured from today. As they finished for the night, Ignis had slapped a hand on Noctis’ shoulder, “ It’s good to have you back.”

 

“ Good to be back.”

  
  
  
  
  



End file.
